The present invention is generally directed to computer graphics systems. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system in which graphic elements are assembled in a multitude of fashions in dependence upon list structures. The present invention is particularly applicable to the automatic generation of business graphics images. However, the concepts employed herein may in fact be extended to other two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer graphics applications. More succinctly, the present invention provides a method for the generic and implicit storage and reassembly of graphical elements, especially chart components.
The motivation for the present invention arises from the field of business graphics, and more particularly from the computer aided generation of business graphics images both on screen and in printed form. However, the principles employed in the design of the present invention are extendable to other graphical applications including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional architectural design and image generation. Nonetheless, the thrust of the present description is based on the business graphics application which provided the original motivation for the invention. In particular, it is seen that the invention provides a method for managing the production of sets of graphical business charts and other related graphical information. Moreover, it is seen that the invention provides what is in effect a chart representation language (CRL).
In the present business climate there are an increasing number of occasions for which the presentation of measured and collected information is important. Moreover, it is important to be able to present these measurements in a systematic form which is readily able to be perceived and communicated. Visual or graphical information has been found to be particularly useful for such purposes. This current emphasis is evidenced by numerous computer related products which provide not only data base and/or spread sheet functionality but which also provide a means for representing selected pieces of information in a systematic and organized fashion.
However, when the data involves different source variables and different categorizations over various periods of time and with a wide variety of relational options, the number of specifically tailored graphical output structures becomes very large. When various combinations of relations as specified by a large number of different criteria are considered, the generation and management of the graphical output becomes very difficult.
One of the inventive aspects of the present invention is that it has been recognized that a business graphic chart can in fact be broken down into a number of different substructures. For example, a typical substructure might include a vertical bar and this vertical bar may or may not be crosshatched in a particular way to indicate its association with other elements of the graph. Likewise, the size of the bar has been recognized as being controllable by a magnitude value and correspondingly, it is has been appreciated that there are certain attributes that the bar possesses in terms of its relative positioning with respect to other bars and the X and Y coordinate axes. Moreover, it has been appreciated that the coordinate axes themselves may be treated as independent components as long as they can be specified and reconstructed in an appropriate way in an output graphical image. Furthermore, it has been appreciated by the present inventor that the size and relative positioning of these graphical elements may be defined via relational data base concepts. Correspondingly, it has also been appreciated that the concepts concerning the relational data base aspects of the invention provide a mechanism for specifying what is in fact a chart representation language. Thus through very simple user interface mechanisms it is possible for decision makers and those who support them to readily generate selected information representations in the most useful form and format.
The approach of the invention is thus in contrast with other decision support tools which are presently available but which are inadequate to meet chart automation needs when it comes to the maintenance of a large number of regularly produced charts. Typical solutions to this chart maintenance problem have involved either programming or some form of duplicative maintenance effort. A principal reason for this inadequacy is that many of these chart construction technologies are designed for interactive use rather than for the batch production of business graphic charts. For example, when using one program, referred to as the Interactive Chart Utility (ICU) to make charts manually, components from a file which describes the format of the chart cannot be chosen selectively. This format is applied to an entire chart, and if two charts had one component which was different, either a new form or additional manual effort to change the form would be required. When generating charts using the Application System (AS) program, maintenance programming is usually required when chart requirements change. In addition, specifying a requirement or chart component that applies to a group of charts cannot be done easily. In another program called GDDM/PGF, specific lower level programming is required for chart generation where requirements change after installation of an application. These usually require changes in the application code. This is an unacceptable and now unnecessary activity. Additionally, using the query management facility (QMF) with ICU for a specific application to make charts automatically also requires structured query language (SQL) and procedure (PROC) maintenance when requirements change. It is thus seen that the advanced tools which are currently available do not meet the needs of a user whose job is to generate and manage a large number of different sets of business graphics, especially when the information represented by the graphical output represents magnitude values associated with a number of different variables.
Even using a very flexible and powerful tool like the data interpretation system (DIS) program can produce a large number of charts by copying objects used to create the charts for each chart and by modifying the aspects that are particular to a given chart. When an aspect that is similar for a group of charts changes, the effort to change that aspect is duplicated for each object. Some engineering graphics tools also represent and select individual components of "charts". However, components are usually related to something other than business related attributes such as trends, hierarchical organizations, axes, chart notes and business graphic types. Finally, most of today's other chart creation tools (like APGS) and specific business graphic applications are designed for the interactive user rather than for automated, management-by-fact facilities. When many charts are being produced automatically, there is usually a great deal of overhead associated with specifying the requirements for the charts, and much of this overhead is extremely duplicative.